Non invasive analysis of miniature paintings: Proposal for an analytical protocol

Analysis on miniatures must be necessarily non-invasive and fast and requires the use of several techniques since no single technique is able to provide all information needed. In this work a four-step analytical protocol is proposed for non-invasive in situ characterisation of miniature paintings. The protocol allows the identification of coloured materials through the use in sequence of complementary techniques, so as to fully exploit the information given by each instrument. Such a procedure offers a wealth of information without causing stress to the manuscripts under analysis.